I woke up at 5 am, ate some waffles, had a cup of coffee, checked the weather and decided to get on with it. I saw rain in the forecast and strong winds so I knew there was no messing around because I could only imagine what would happen if I got caught in a storm!
I am unstable with the aerobars. I forget that any slight movement with my upper body moves the bike. It is a reminder of how much I moved my upper body when riding Boris. Anyways, I found myself heading off the road and within seconds I was dropping off the shoulder straight down about 4 feet into tall grass, shrubs, sticks, etc. I held on and did not crash and was actually able to ride it effectively until I could unclip and stop. I thought for sure I would have a flat tire after all I rode through, but I check things out and it all looked good. So, I kept on, but feeling stupid for going off road only 3 miles into the ride. I swear I am not this bad of a rider, but this Cervelo is a whole new world compared to Boris.
As I rode out to PV Junior High and then further out to the country to McCausland I was just in such a relaxed wonderful state of mind. I had the wind working in my favor as well as the hills. I was cruising it was not long before I hit mile 24 my turnaround spot. I was in the middle of nowhere when I finally hit mile 24. I stopped for a bit to eat a Bonk Breaker bar as I was too scared to eat while riding being how unstable I am on the bike. At mile 21 my chain did pop off and I had to stop to figure out how to get it back on. I don't know what I did to cause it to happen, but it was another moment of dealing with riding. I rode 24 miles in 67 minutes. I was flying to get to this point. It felt effortless which I would soon learn why, but for the moment I was on cloud 9.
I took some pictures while I was stopped. I really cannot believe how smooth this bike it while I ride.
Here is the view from the saddle.
My view while chopping down on a Bonk Breaker Bar
Now, when I headed back it was a nightmare. The wind was brutal and picking up speed as the storm was moving in. All those hills that allowed me ride at a fast speed were now laughing in my face along with the wind as I had to work like crazy to climb back up. It was a real challenge.
I will admit that it was much, much easier climbing on this bike compared to Boris. It really does require so much less energy to work. I cannot believe it.
I fought and clawed my way back to PV Junior High where I took a quick minute break for some water before finishing up the last 9 miles home.
I made it back in a pretty good time considering this was my first ride and I have much to learn about riding a tri bike.
My legs were tired from the long ride, but I did not feel anywhere near as tired as I had though. With Boris, I would have taken another 15 minutes to finish this course because riding home was brutal.
Despite riding off the shoulder on mile 3, being attacked by redwing blackbirds(one got stuck on my helmet and almost caused me to poop my pants and crash), having my chain fall off, and learning how much the wind can sway this bike(wind did not move Boris) this was an awesome ride. It felt great to get out and get it done.
I came home and 5 minutes later it started to rain. I recovered with some apple cinnamon protein(this stuff is amazing) mixed with ice cream and creatine.
This was a great ride. A great start to the week. I ate like complete crap last week and missed out on this bike ride yesterday so it was not the best of weeks. This week will be better with better eating and some serious training mixed in.
Enjoy the day with friends and family
Here is my route I rode this morning
Note for my self:
Nutrition Intake: Water Bottle of Water, 1/2 water bottle of water, 1 Bonk Breaker
**Working on realizing I don't need as much nutrition as I think I do**
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